Theodore Roosevelt was a freak of nature: a hyperkinetic polymath on overdrive. Either he was a space alien or had a mutation that allowed his body toTheodore Roosevelt was a freak of nature: a hyperkinetic polymath on overdrive. Either he was a space alien or had a mutation that allowed his body to synthesize methamphetamine. This, the first volume of Morris's three-book biography of TR, captures Teddy's life from birth to the moment he ascended to the presidency after McKinley's assassination. Vivid in telling details, it skimps on TR's personal life once the politics gets going, and in some places there are gaps. Having said that, I'm given to understand that, endnotes included, the paper version of this book is nearly a thousand pages long, and it's only book one. Which speaks to the profoundly full and interesting life TR led to that point.